World Falls Down
by EvilEdna42
Summary: It's been nine years since Sarah defeated the Labyrinth and the Goblin King. Whatever could induce her to return? WIP.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One, in which we catch up with our heroine.

Disclaimer: The characters contained within aren't mine. I didn't create them, I don't own them. If, however, anyone has a spare Jareth running about, I'd be glad to take delivery.

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The thing about entering the Goblin Kingdom is that it enters you in return. It seeps in to your bones, in to your soul. It's the kind of stain that no amount of scrubbing will remove; no matter how long and how hard you try.

God knows, Sarah had tried.

Toby hadn't seemed to suffer any ill affects; possibly because he'd been so very young when he'd been taken. Maybe the true magic and mystery of the place had seemed commonplace to such a young child. Whatever the reason, he professed to remember nothing about the experience on the few times that Sarah and carefully broached the subject with him.

"You can't remember anything odd happening to you when you were small?" she'd coaxed, not wanting to blurt out what she was thinking.

"I think I jammed a lego brick up my nose, once." He'd replied, small features screwed up in thought. He was only ten and had yet to lose all of his baby fat. The newest addition to the family, Alice, cooed contentedly from her crib.

"That was a few months ago, weirdo." Sarah had said affectionately, ruffling his blond curls.

Toby had looked sheepish and Sarah had dropped the subject. Maybe he really couldn't remember, or maybe he just didn't want to talk about it. Whatever the reason, she wasn't going to push it. In the nine years since she'd conquered the Labyrinth and returned back safely, she'd called on Hoggle and her friends no less than fifteen times; whenever she'd felt down or lonely or scared. The one person that never made an appearance was the one person that she really wanted to see. Jareth.

The god-damned King of the Goblins.

She mocked herself for that, knowing full well that wanting to see him again was a self-destructive wish that could quite probably spell her own annihilation. Knowing that something's bad for you and never doing it, however, are completely different things. Who hasn't reached for that one last chocolate knowing that it will quite probably make you sick and yet doing it anyway? Some things are too addictive to even contemplate giving up. A man who had promised you the world in return for the complete subordination of self was as intriguing a prospect as it was horrifying.

Nine years since the Labyrinth. Nine years. Nine years which had seen her complete her college education and get a mediocre job at a printing company, proof-reading other people's documents and reflecting that nothing that came out of the authors' brains matched the reality of what she herself had gone through. She'd had boyfriends, but none of the sexual experiences she'd had compared favourably to the few minutes she'd spent waltzing in Jareth's arms during the peach dream. How many times had she wished she'd accepted his offer? How many times had she looked at Toby and been glad that she hadn't?

Commonplace things reminded her of the Labyrinth as she went about her daily business. As she caught her bus to work one morning she watched a golden-bright butterfly flit against the window and was reminded of the snapping fairies that she'd caught Hoggle exterminating at the entrance. She stared, entranced, as the tiny creature battered itself in vain against the glass, wasting its energy and its life on an endeavour that it couldn't accomplish.

Just the way she'd felt when running the Labyrinth.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Disclaimer: Not mine. If only. They'd be doing dirty things to each other if they were...

A/N: Thanks for the feedback! I should really be doing my anthropology reading, you know. Not writing fanfic...

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"Sarah? Can I see you in my office for a minute?"

Sarah looked up from her pile of papers to see her manager standing over her. His face was completely devoid of expression and Sarah panicked for a second, fearing that a big "you're a good worker but we have to cut back on some staff…" speech was coming.

"Yes, of course," she replied, standing up and following him through to his office. He gestured for her to take a seat and she took it thankfully, heart beating just a little too fast.

"Sarah, I looked through your manuscript this morning.." he paused and glanced at her.

"Which one? I know that the Myles manuscript is a little patchy but I only contacted him about it yesterday and he hasn't posted through the second draft yet," Sarah tailed off as the look on her manager's face told her this wasn't what he was referring to.

"No, Sarah, I meant _your_ manuscript. The one you left on the top of the pile of documents on your desk? I have to admit, I don't normally read unsolicited ones but I had already scanned through the first few paragraphs before I noticed your name on the top. It was good, Sarah. A little bit too adult for the pre-teen market, but good nonetheless."

"Mr Cameron, I didn't mean to leave that on my desk! It was just a bit of fun, I never considered it for publication," Sarah's words came out in a jumbled rush as her mind tried to make sense of what had happened. A few months ago, she'd began to write down her experiences in the Labyrinth purely for her own amusement. She must have left it on top of her other work when she'd left the night before; she had to babysit her little brother and sister and had been in such a rush she'd forgotten to put it back in her bag.

"But Sarah, it's perfect for the anthology of fairy stories we're planning. The characters are well drawn, the story itself has merit and is very original. I was concerned over the conceit of calling the heroine after yourself but of course that's something we can change in editing," Mr Cameron smiled at her, pushing his wire-rimmed glasses further up his nose. Sarah smiled back. It was only a story, after all. What was she so worried about? Being published in an anthology would be amazing; just knowing all those people were reading her work.

"If you're sure that it's good enough, I'd love for it to be published," she said firmly, pushing all doubts to the back of her mind.

"Great! As I said, it's a little bit too adult for the market we're aiming at, so if you could just rewrite those pieces that I've underlined and resubmit it I'm sure we can work something out."

Sarah smiled again and picked the paper up from Mr Cameron's desk, walking back to her desk with a sense of disbelief and pride. Her work, good enough for publication? Amazing! She glanced at the parts that Mr Cameron had underlined and was unsurprised to find that they were all paragraphs that pertained to Jareth and the way he made her feel. Somehow, it didn't shock her too much to find that Mr Cameron considered them too "adult" for a fairy story.

Sarah's heart wasn't in her work for the rest of the day; instead her head was filled with thoughts of seeing her work in print and how proud her parents would be. How proud her mother would have been if she was still alive. Also, the writing process would hopefully provide some catharsis for her; wipe all thoughts of Jareth from her mind once and for all. When she eventually made it home, she smiled at her siblings and hoisted her sister on to her hip.

"Guess what, cutie? Your sister's gonna be published!"

Her sister gurgled back at her, pulling her hair with a chubby fist. Sarah laughed and twirled her round, laughing even harder as Alice's gurgles turned to shrieks of delight.

"You'll make her sick," her stepmother observed from the doorway.

"She's sturdy, she can take it," Sarah stuck out her tongue and rolled her eyes, much to the delight of Alice. Her stepmother shook her head and smiled; marvelling, not for the first time, how much better life was now that she and Sarah got on so well.

"She's been trying to bite off Lancelot's ear again," she informed Sarah, reaching out to take Alice.

"Well, she _is_ a little gremlin. She's been trying to kill that bear since she was born.," Sarah relinquished her sister and screwed up her face, making Alice giggle. "I'm going to head upstairs for a nap. Long day."

"I'll wake you when dinner's ready."

Sarah took the steps two at a time, throwing her bag onto her chair and collapsing backwards on to her bed. What a day! She snuggled on to her side and sighed, closing her eyes and letting the sound of her clock ticking lull her to sleep.

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"Do you imagine that it is somehow my fondest wish to have millions of young girls run my Labyrinth?"

Sarah awoke with a start to find herself staring into the mismatched eyes of the Goblin King. She shrieked and scooted over to the other end of the bed, clutching the covers to her chest. A ridiculous thing to do when she was fully clothed.

"J-Jareth," she stammered, eyes wide.

"I allowed to you to leave my kingdom, I gave you back your brother and this is how you repay me?" Jareth's eyes narrowed and he scowled.

"I-I-I I don't know what you're talking about," Sarah tried to scramble further over as Jareth sat on the edge of her bed. It had been nine years since she'd last set eyes upon him, but he hadn't changed. No signs of age, no grey in that blonde hair.

"Your little story, Sarah. Your little story that gives step by step instructions on how to call the goblins and how to defeat the Labyrinth."

"Oh, that. Jareth, it hasn't even been published yet. How do you even know about it?"

"Do you imagine that just because I allowed you to leave I took no further interest in you? What impacts on the Goblin Kingdom impacts on me. And this story impacts on both."

"I can withdraw it! Or change it so that it doesn't contain the real words…"

Jareth forestalled her ideas by raising his hand.

"I can do that myself. What I need from you is some damage limitation. I need you to come back to the Goblin Kingdom with me. Tonight."


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Today at work I dropped a plate of food over a customer. When he yelled at me, I calmly replied: "But I don't own the characters contained herein." That shut him up good, I can tell you.

A/N: Yes, I know these chapters are rather short. This is because I write like a freak and want them to be up and published ASAP. I could no doubt have run the first three chapters together into one bigger chapter, but then who would have done my anthropology reading? There's only so much reading of Evans-Pritchard a girl can do without having to disengage and write fanfic. That said, I'm going to shut up now and let you get on with the story.

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"_I can do that myself. What I need from you is some damage limitation. I need you to come back to the Goblin Kingdom with me. Tonight."_

Sarah stared at Jareth in utter shock. He returned her gaze calmly, managing to look slightly bored.

"You want me to _what_?" Sarah tried to make her voice sound strong but it came out as a sort of breathy squeak.

"My dear Sarah, don't tell me the years since I saw you last have resulted in some sort of dementia? I was aware that humans aged quickly, but even so.." Jareth smirked, eyes seeming to turn cat-like and predatory.

"I'm quite sane, damn you! Jareth, why in the world would you imagine that I would voluntarily come back to your kingdom with you?" Sarah leant forward, quite forgetting her fear as her rage made itself known.

"Whatever gave you the impression that it was voluntary?" Jareth leant forward also until his face was millimetres from her own. Sarah sucked in a shaky breath and tried to ignore the fact that he smelled like crushed grass and fresh earth.

"I'm not going back there." She stated, feeling better for her resolve.

"But Sarah, if you don't, who will? A human has to come to my kingdom to show my subjects that I still have full control over my realm. You made this mess, it's only right that you should be the instrument used to repair it." Jareth raised an eyebrow and his mouth twitched up at the corner, showing his slightly sharpened incisor. Slightly scary and yet oddly erotic, not unlike the man himself.

"I don't owe you anything."

"Fine, then I shall take your sister. Such a small child, she'll assimilate quickly to my life. In a few decades she'll age to the point where I could even entertain the thought of taking her as my bedmate."

Sarah gasped at the notion of Alice being used in such a way. The look on Jareth's face told her that that was exactly the end result he'd hoped for.

"That's not fair!" the words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them.

"Ah. I had hoped you had matured to the point that you had stopped making such ridiculous statements. I am forced to again wonder what your basis for comparison is."

Sarah felt helpless. She had no doubt whatsoever that Jareth would indeed take Alice if she refused to go instead. She had been forced to make such a decision once before; was the life and happiness of her sibling worth more than her own happiness? Her feelings hadn't changed in the interim, she would still sacrifice everything she wanted for the happiness of those closest to her. A treacherous voice whispered that it wouldn't be that much of a sacrifice, hadn't she been wishing for a chance to see Jareth again, but this time to face him as a mature woman?

"You leave me with no choices," she murmured, feeling defeated, "I have to come with you."

"At least now you recognise when you have no option but to capitulate." Jareth stood up in one fluid motion and extended his hand to her. Sarah got to her feet slowly and gazed at that gloved hand.

"I won't surrender to you," she whispered, glancing at him, "I'll never surrender to you. I'll come with you but you have to realise that I won't be your slave."

A slow smile lit up Jareth's face and he dropped his hand back to his side.

"We'll see, Sarah, we'll see."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own these fine characters. However, I do have a slightly used painting of a fish if anyone's interested in swapsies.

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Sarah stared at the dress in front of her in absolute horror. She had nothing against showing some flesh; God knows she'd been to enough bikini parties in college to have lost most of her inhibitions. This dress, though..

"It won't bite you, dearie. Now just put it on quickly, let's not make his Lordship angry," Kister's voice sounded behind her and Sarah turned round to face the diminuative woman. The top of her head only reached Sarah's waist, but she had already proved herself to be more than a match for the human girl. Sarah twisted her mouth and looked back at the dress.

"It's just so… _different_ from anything I'd normally wear. I don't think I can even pull that look off."

"Now, now. I'm sure the King wouldn't choose a dress for you that'd make you look silly. Just you put it on."

Sarah bit her lip and tentatively reached out a forefinger to touch the dress. The material felt like spiders' webs; gossamer fine and with about as much substance. The colour was completely different from the last one she had worn in Jareth's presence; Sarah supposed that virginal white wasn't really her style any longer. This dress was a deep, vibrant red; the colour of fine wine and lifeblood. The comparison wasn't lost on her.

"The last dress I wore for him was slightly more… _modest_."

"Because you were a child, living a child's dream." Jareth's voice seemed to surround her and she whirled round, open defiance in her eyes. He had lost his cloak in the period between emerging in her room and bringing her here, now all he wore was an open-necked shirt and those too-tight trousers.

"Come to make sure I haven't run away?" Sarah taunted.

"Where do you think you could go? There is no way out this time, Sarah. Not unless I allow you to leave."

"You didn't_ allow_ me to leave last time, Jareth. I defeated you, remember? I wouldn't give my heart in soul in return for your dubious promises."

"After all these years you still believe you defeated me? My dear girl, I allowed you to leave. You were too young, too immature to accept my offer. I told you then I was exhausted through living up to your expectations of me; it was easier to let you go than to fight with a silly child."

"I. Defeated. You." Sarah felt like sticking her tongue out for good measure but rejected the idea as too childish. You didn't win an argument with Jareth through being childish.

"And yet here you are, in my Kingdom once again. Put the dress on, Sarah. I'll be expecting you in the ballroom in half an hour." He didn't even wait for a reply; he just turned on his heel and left. Sarah fumed silently and then resolutely picked up the dress.

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Sarah stepped in to the crowded ballroom, back held ramrod straight. At her side, Kister glared at anyone who whispered and elbowed anyone who got too close. Nothing like having a half-demon minder to keep the masses in their place. Sarah shivered as a cool breeze caressed her bare shoulders causing goosebumps to rise on her pale flesh. Her dress, whilst floor length, left her shoulders bare and was slashed almost to the small of her back. Her chest was at least decently covered, but the fine material clung to every curve. She was painfully aware of the fact that many of the people in the room were staring at her with unconcealed interest. Unlike the ball in the Peach Dream, the dancers had their faces uncovered and she had the chance to note that both the men and the women were far too attractive to be human. She felt her skin prickle with awareness and knew without turning around that Jareth was standing behind her.

"Enjoying yourself?" he whispered, bending his head down so that his breath tickled her ear. Kister glanced once at her master and then faded away into the crowd.

"I've always dreamed of being kidnapped, forced into a dress that isn't my taste and then marched around a dancefloor filled with people who seem to want to laugh at me. So yeah, this is just about perfect, thanks." Sarah snapped back, taking a step forward to remove herself from his immediate physical presence. To her annoyance, he followed her and grasped her arm, pulling her round until she faced him. Expecting him to be angry at her insolence, she was disconcerted to find that he had an amused smile on his face.

"You really haven't changed in all these years, have you?" he drawled, eyes raking over her slight frame. Sarah fought the urge to cross her arms protectively over her chest and settled for glaring back. She noticed the feral glint in his eyes and decided it wouldn't be a bad idea to play with him; maybe if he got tired of her petulance and mercurial moods he'd allow her to leave that more quickly.

"I've changed a lot, Jareth," she purred, and was rewarded by the sight of his eyes widening slightly, "and wouldn't you just _love_ to find out how much?"

Jareth raised an eyebrow and extended his hand towards her.

"Shall we dance?"

Sarah knew at that moment that the Goblin King was going to be a lot harder to resist than she had anticipated; worse, she wasn't even sure she wanted to resist any more.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: It's 2am in the morning. I do this from love, not for money. Things get fruity in this chapter, hee hee hee.

A/N: Right. I'm getting tired of these short chapters, too. So my idea is to possibly run a few chapters together and repost them. Also, as I plan on making the next chapter a looooong one, I might not be updating much before this time next week. Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Notwritten, your reviews are so short and to the point they make me grin! Thanks also to Lain Stardust, Labyrinth Mistress and Anna McNarin for taking the time to review. I do so love reviews, they're writer crack.

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"_I've changed a lot, Jareth," she purred, and was rewarded by the sight of his eyes widening slightly, "and wouldn't you just love to find out how much?"_

_Jareth raised an eyebrow and extended his hand towards her._

"_Shall we dance?"_

Sarah placed her hand in Jareth's and tried to still the wild trembling that had taken hold of her body. It was just a dance. She'd danced with him before, she could do it again. As he pulled her so that her body was flush against his own, however, she knew that she was wrong. The last time they had danced, he'd held her carefully at arm's length, treating her like a piece of fragile glass. His own porcelain doll; beautiful to look at but far too delicate for any rough handling. She could feel the wall of his chest crushing her breasts and she was scared to breathe for fear of bringing herself into even closer contact. Jareth regarded her through those mismatched, slanted eyes, lips curving up into a grim smile. One of his hands was splayed at the base of her spine, long fingers teasing the bare flesh there. The other loosely clasped her own, fingers intertwined. He brought his mouth to her cheek and paused, lips millimetres from her skin. Sarah shivered, telling herself it was through fear and not anticipation.

"Are you sure this is a game you want to play?" he whispered, lips tickling her cheek. Sarah swallowed convulsively, and tried to back away, but his hand at her back pulled her even closer. Suddenly, she wasn't sure what she wanted. With just a few touches, Jareth had excited her in a way no human man ever had; a large part of her wanted to find out what it would be like to surrender herself completely to this desire. The music playing softly in the background was the same song he had sung to her the last time they had danced; this time the words seemed to take on a whole new meaning for her. She moved her head slowly to the side, lips brushing against Jareth's in a fleeting caress.

"I don't know any more," she whispered truthfully against his closed mouth. Jareth stepped back, dropping his hand from her back. Sarah felt bereft, skin suddenly cold.

"I've watched you for such a long time, Sarah. I've watched you as you allowed men into your bed, human men who have no place touching your skin." He shook his head and regarded her silently. Sarah flushed as the implications of what he said sunk in.

"You watched me with other men?" she whispered, the thought both repelling and exciting her. "Why?"

"Curiosity has ever been a facet of goblin psychology," he shrugged. Something in his eyes made a lie of that statement.

"Did you miss me, Jareth?" Did you lie awake thinking of me, the way I did about you? Did you lose yourself in other people, wishing it was me? Did you torment yourself with visions of something you could never let yourself have?

Jareth didn't reply. Instead, he stepped forward again and lightly touched Sarah under her chin with the tip of one finger, tipping her face up. He brought his mouth down slowly to hers, giving her ample time to back away if she wanted to. She didn't. His lips met hers in a soft, soft kiss, a mere brushing of skin against skin. Sarah sighed and kissed him back, hands creeping up his back to link around his neck. Jareth slowly drew her bottom lip between his own and gently applied his teeth to it, scraping them against the delicate flesh. Sarah shivered and closed here eyes, losing herself in the sensations he was creating.

"Jareth?" a deep male voice broke the spell and Sarah stumbled backwards, hand coming up to cover her mouth. Jareth sighed and turned to face the tall man who stood impatiently, banging a silver-topped cane against one long boot.

"Lyall," he said coolly, "to what does the Goblin Kingdom owe the honour of a visit from the Elven King?"

"I have brought my sister to meet you, Jareth. It only seems right that you should at least talk to each other before the wedding."

Jareth turned to Sarah, mouth opening to offer some explanation, but she merely stiffened her spine and gave a brittle smile.

"If you'll excuse me, I really must retire to my room." And cry as my world falls down, she finished silently.


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